The Billionaire in Boots

The Billionaire in Boots (The Princes of Texas #3)- Julia London
Berkley/Penguin Group
Release Date: March 3, 2020 

Rating:
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: As the firstborn son, it's been drilled into Nick that he is the heir apparent to the Prince family empire. But cattle ranching has never been his true passion. Nick wants to be a pilot.  However, when his father dies, leaving Nick to clean up the mess, he knows he must do his duty before following his heart.

Charlotte Bailey can't believe that Nick is back to run the ranch. As the office manager, she knows it's her responsibility to help him. If only he wasn't so brooding and cranky--and so hot it's a wonder his chaps don't melt right off him. But when sparks fly between them, she's adamant about staying away from a cowboy on his way out the door.

Nick knows the ranch's pretty, smart, and capable office manager is off-limits, but he needs her. And working in such close proximity to Charlotte every day is making Nick crazy. She smells good, she looks good, she makes him laugh, but most of all she makes him want to stay....

________________________________________________________________________

This was a sweet, sort-of-friends to lovers story with a slow burn and plenty of learning along the way.  Charlotte and Nick spent one night together and have tried to ignore their chemistry ever since.  Nick's now her boss at a ranch he doesn't want to run, mired down by debt and poor decisions his father made.  He's trying to do everything for his family and resenting the fact that he's doing nothing for himself and his dreams of flight school have been put on permanent hold.  Charlotte wants a husband and kids and the happy life she imagines others have.  But what she really enjoys is tweaking Nick over his isolationist, grumpy tendencies and his inability to follow her color-coded filing system.

The problem with Nick and Charlotte is that they both have goals for their lives, but haven't quite figured out what they really WANT long term.  And even though they communicate perfectly at work, relationship communicating (especially on Nick's part) doesn't come as easily.  With two loud, nosy, and opinionated families 'helping' them and nosy and opinionated neighbors in a small town wanting all the gossip, they find it hard to have the real conversations needed in any relationship.

Charlotte is a bouncy, fun, stubborn person who needs someone just as stubborn to match her.  I have to say it was Nick who I really connected with in this one.  A slightly withdrawn loner who still wouldn't mind not being alone all the time but doesn't really known how to go about it, Nick is complicated and quiet, sweet and grumpy.  He has an easier time with animals than people and doesn't hesitate to step into his dad's shoes- even though he really doesn't want to.  He has the unfortunate habit of imagining there is only one way something can work and not asking for help or talking out other ideas to look for new options, but also has the delightful (and rare) ability to admit when he is wrong and apologize.

Full of awful first dates, adorable animals, and plenty of humor, "The Billionaire in Boots" is a light, emotional, sparkling story that will make you glad you read it.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review